The Minot Honeybees were a mere three outs away from forcing a decisive Game 3, but Trinity Kennemer and the Madison Night Mares weren’t about to delay their championship celebration to the following day.

With runners on first and second and no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of a tied game, Kennemer delivered the title-winning walk-off hit, roping a single to center field to score Addison Blomberg to give Madison a 6-5 victory over Minot in Game 2 of the Northwoods League Championship Series in front of 3,359 fans at Warner Park on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Kennemer’s heroics lifted Madison to its first league title and put a bow on what had been a dominant regular season.

The Honeybees entered the bottom half of the final frame nursing a 5-4 lead after Bella Cimino broke a 4-4 stalemate in the top half of the inning on an RBI single to score Carly Cummings with two outs. The lead was short-lived as Madison’s Danielle Lucey opened up the seventh with a lead-off home run to center field for her second hit of the contest.

Blomberg followed with an infield single and Gretta Grassel drew a walk before Kennemer ended both the game and the season.

The Night Mares scored the first three runs of the game, plating one in the first and two more in the third. Isabela Emerling got Madison on the board with an RBI single to right, bringing in Hilary Blomberg. Hilary Blomberg would tally two of her game-high three RBIs with a two-run double in the third.

The Honeybees rallied in the fourth with two big swings. What looked like an inning that wouldn’t amount to anything after the first two batters recorded outs, Cimino launched a solo home run to center to get Minot on the board. Olivia Hernandez singled and Makenna Alexander walked, and with one swing of the bat, Taylor Chillingworth put the Honeybees in front with a three-run home run to center.

Minot’s lead wouldn’t last past the half-inning. Madison used four consecutive walks to score the tying run. But the Honeybees would limit the damage. With the bases loaded and one out, Minot threw out the potential go-ahead runner at the plate on a grounder to third and got Emerling to ground into a fielder’s choice at third to end the inning.

The Honeybees outhit the Night Mares 9-7, led by a 3-for-4 night by Cummings.

Jackie Albrecht started for the second consecutive game and pitched into the seventh inning. She allowed six runs on seven hits, striking out one and walking 12. Paytn Monticelli went the distance for Madison, allowing five runs on nine hits, striking out 10 and walking three.

The Honeybees finished their second season with a 21-21 record during the regular season, marking an 11-win improvement from their inaugural campaign.